“The prospects beyond 2010 are disastrous”

The Star talks to the Canadian music community about the Conservatives’ cuts to, well, everything to do with the arts. “Music industry conferences in Canada will yield less because showcases will be unattended by foreign music buyers, agents, label representatives and radio programmers whose travel and accommodation expenses were partly paid by these federal funds. “And fewer Canadian acts will be able to take part in showcases in major foreign talent conferences. Hundreds of small businesses in the Canadian arts sector representing millions of dollars in cultural revenue will be affected.” Using grants of $60,000 to $70,000 from two cancelled programs, music industry organizations such as ECMA, Canadian Music Week and the Western Canadian Musical Alliance have paid up to half the travel expenses of international music industry representatives attending their annual showcases and awards presentations. In the past decade, that small investment has h...